Leading off the final day of the 2018 Innovision Conference from Fort Lauderdale was a keynote presentation with Dr. Rick Goodman, a former physician for both the St. Louis Rams and Miami Heat when they won their coveted championships. Goodman discussed the importance of transformational leadership:
“Leaders motivate and inspire,” he says. “They relentlessly create the vision and set strategies for action. The ultimate gift of a leader is not to have followers, but to develop many other leaders.”
Goodman sees the path to this objective focusing on the ability to transform thinking to best meet our collective needs, optimizing our assets and the talents of our team, and accelerating connectivity with people through care, protection, and guidance. Using anecdotes from his own personal and professional experiences, he concluded that in order to become a successful transformational leader we must create an inspiring vision, motivate our teams to buy into that vision, manage delivery of the vision, and build even stronger trust relationships that instill these objectives into a team culture.
This was followed by a series of informative and productive breakout sessions offered by both solution providers and loss prevention practitioners covering topics such as “machine learning,” remote monitoring, “The Three-Second Rule,” and “Thinking about Security Differently” that engaged the audiences and sparked robust conversations.
Following yesterday’s breakout sessions with attendees, the afternoon began with a discussion of critical topics and talking points that attendees would like to see solution providers further develop in the upcoming year. The four top topics discussed included:
- Intelligent Video Storage and Retrieval that helps us to optimize intelligent use and application of video data
- Leveraging Technology to help us use our current systems better, more effectively, and more efficiently. For example, using available camera systems to better understand customer movements in the stores and how that might benefit retailers.
- Predictive Analytics to help enhance the in-store experience. For example, when customers walk past an item they frequently purchase, immediately sending the customer a coupon or discount notification directly to them to encourage purchases and improve the customer experience.
- Authentification and Surveillance without Offense. Using valuegraphics to identify potential internal and external theft without impacting the customer experience.
The afternoon keynote presentation featured Kathleen Smith, vice president of asset protection with Albertsons, who will provided insights on leadership, succession planning and how innovative companies can utilize technologies to contribute positively to the bottom line.
This was followed by additional opportunities to meet in individual sessions with the different solution providers to further discuss product questions as well as business needs, options and opportunities.
The day and the conference concluded with a networking dinner complete with good company, great food, live music, and entertainment.
As the event closes, it’s also important to recognize the value of these types of events and the opportunities that they present to all those involved. National shows provide exceptional value and incredible experiences that every loss prevention professional should experience. But unique opportunities like Innovision and similar events should also be recognized as an important and effective occasion to learn, grow, network, and build upon.
